MINGORA: Two powerful roadside blasts, caused by as many improvised explosive devices (IEDs), rocked the Kalam valley on Friday, killing a soldier and wounding five others.

Government sources said that one IED exploded when an army vehicle reached the Bahan area of Kalam tehsil at around 2pm. A soldier, identified as Arif, was killed, while two others were wounded.

Earlier, a roadside IED exploded at about 11am when a vehicle was passing through the same area. Three people — Ghagra tehsil nazim Syed Salar Jehan and his two relatives Syed Imad Jehan and Shehzad Niazi — were wounded in the explosion. They were taken to hospital.

The sources said that it was not clear whether the nazim was the target of the IED.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra condemned the attack on security forces and expressed his shock and sorrow over the loss of the precious life.

In a statement, the governor expressed sympathies with members of the bereaved family and the injured and termed the attack a cowardly act of terror.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2016